Yes, that's what ESO players have been dealing with ever since the same change.
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Please at least allow us to add the windows version to accounts that own the steam licence.
I bought my steam version due to a sale going on. Had I known this would be an issue I would never have done it.
It were never confirmed that the authentication method will be the same as ESO, ppl are just comparing with the worst case in Steam. There is a lot of other games on steam that doesn't work this way, on POE for example you login using steam credentials there is no steam authentication server.
It's entirely likely that those games are under similar pressure to make the change soon. There's no reason to believe or assume ESO opted IN to such a terrible system, especially after claiming multiple times there's nothing they can do differently. Optimism is nice, but bracing for the worst case is important.
I think the reaction to this is premature. Very typical of the internet though; receives a notice of an event happening, takes the worst possible "what-if" scenario and runs with it. Basically an entire thread of fear-mongering.
I'll reserve judgement as to what effect (if any, since I already run my game through Steam anyway) this change will have until they actually happen, and if the worst case scenario does happen and I can't reliably play, I'll just stop giving money to Steam/SE and play something else.
I'm pretty confused as to how people didn't realise they were locked to Steam versions though. It's pretty clearly documented. Maybe if it was received as a gift?
In any case, it seems that looking before you leap (or reading up about a game before pressing BUY in this case) is a lost practice.
I don't use Steam for XIV, I was never given the option afaik when transferring in from 1.0.
But I wouldn't have anyway in how they've handled expansions and such in the past. I've always been urging new players to not use the Steam edition.
While this change may not actually affect anything, it's always good to be on the cautious side.
I've always found it strange you can't simply buy the game again with a normal PC client license.
It's documented now, thanks to expansions having been released and the policy having been clarified. Back in 2014 there was no indication what you were signing up for when you chose to purchase through Steam. I got the software directly through SE, so why should getting a key from steam affect that?
And I imagine most people are like me and would rather not have the status quo disrupted, which is why there's criticism now. Waiting until it's already implemented is too little, too late.
Sign me in!
I stopped using steam to log in the game because I had to re-download the entire game once a week. It was a nightmare to me...